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My seller has asked for a non-refundable deposit. Should I pay? |
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The short answer is no. You should not pay any deposit until contracts are actually exchanged. |
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How much should I be paying in legal fees? |
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Depends on service you require. Up to a point, the more you pay the better the service and vice versa. |
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My seller has asked for a non-refundable deposit. Should I pay? |
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Depends – seller cannot tie you into the purchase until exchange BUT can keep your deposit if you |
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I have found a property that I like, but I am worried that the seller might keep looking for a better price. What can I do to make sure that the seller only sells to me? |
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Ask seller to enter into lock-out agreement (explain what they are, why you want one and the |
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What is a Local Search and why do I need one? |
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Explain what it does - LLC1, CON29. Why do you need one? Can you choose not to have one? (mortgage |
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What is a personal search? |
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Explain difference between them – why should you use one over the other (speed, efficiency, cost for PS |
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What is a drainage search and do I need one? |
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Gives details of water and drainage service provider – confirms that property has mains water and |
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What is a chancel repair search? |
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Indicates whether your property has a chancel repair liability – this means that you can be compelled to |
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Are there any other searches I might need? |
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Coal/tin mining, commons registration etc. Most depend on region ie Cornwall for |
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Do I need a survey? |
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Caveat Emptor - most expensive thing you will ever buy – why save £400? If you still want to avoid - |
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What is a HIP? |
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See our HIP guide and DIY HIPs in our legal guide. |
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My seller has received a better offer and is now asking me for more money. What can I do? |
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This is called gazumping and is an inevitable bi-product of the great weakness of the English system of |
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There is a nice field next to the house I want to buy. How do I make sure that no one is planning on building on it? |
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Your local search will only relate to the property you are buying and is unlikely therefore to mention |
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My transaction is moving much too slowly. How can I speed it up? |
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Remember conveyancing takes time – most ‘delays’ are nothing of the sort, it just takes time to get |
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I live in rented accommodation and my sellers have asked me to give notice. They say that completion will take place before the end of the notice period – should I trust them? |
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The short answer is no. Unless you have actually exchanged contracts neither side is tied into |
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What is stamp duty? |
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Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax charged on the purchase of property. For residential property it is |
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Is there any way of reducing the stamp duty that I have to pay? |
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The short answer is no. It used to be a possibility but these days HMRC deal very harshly with people wh |
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What is an Inland Revenue Land Transaction Return Form? |
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This is a twelve page form usually completed by the conveyancer. Most firms make a charge for t |
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I have agreed to buy a house, but my financial position has changed and I don’t want to proceed. What can I do? |
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Depends on stage of transaction – before exchange you can withdraw at no cost other than any legal fees, |
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I don’t have enough spare cash to pay a 10% deposit on my house purchase, but I still want to buy the house. What can I do? |
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You can agree a smaller deposit – most sellers will accept a smaller deposit or even no deposit for a |
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I am in a long chain and am finding it impossible to agree a completion date. What can I do? |
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Not much. You could ask agents to put pressure on everyone in the chain. You could consider setting a |
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I have exchanged contracts on my purchase and fixed a completion date. My circumstances have changed and I want to complete on a different day. What can I do? |
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You should immediately tell your conveyancers - they can ask the buyers to agree to amend the completion |
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What’s the difference between exchange and completion? |
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“Exchange” means the exchange of contracts. Many years ago the solicitors for the seller and buyer |
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What do I need to do before completion? |
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You will have a lot of things to do before completion takes place, though your conveyancer should promp |
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What happens on completion? |
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Your conveyancer will receive your mortgage funds and will send to seller’s conveyancer as soon as |
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I’ve just discovered that my seller is bankrupt. What do I do now? |
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You should immediately advise your conveyancer and take specialist advice – this can cause |
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What do I do about buildings insurance? |
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Depends – if you are buying a house then you are usually responsible for insuring the property |
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My conveyancer has told me that the house I am buying has some restrictive covenants imposed on it. Is this a problem? |
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Depends on the covenant – depends on the type, how old it is, who has benefit of the covenant and what |
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My conveyancers have discovered a problem with the house that I am buying. I am not bothered about it, but my conveyancers won’t exchange as they claim that the mortgage lender won’t let them. Why is this? |
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When you buy a house with a mortgage your conveyancer will also act for the mortgage lender. Most mortg |
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What is the Council of Mortgage Lenders? |
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The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) is the industry association for mortgage lenders, and their |
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What is the Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook? |
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The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Handbook sets out lenders’ requirements for conveyancers acting on |
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What is the difference between joint tenants and tenants in common? |
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Joint tenants and tenants in common are two different ways for two people to hold a property. If it is |
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What is a TR1 or Transfer Deed? |
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Formal land registry document prepared by conveyancers – transfers property from seller to buyer – need |
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What is an AP1? |
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Land registry application form drawn up by conveyancers – used when making an application to the |
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What is a DS1/END1? |
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DS1 – form used by mortgage lenders to confirm that a mortgage has been repaid – this is then sent to |
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What is a Title Information Document? |
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Copy of land register – used to be called Office Copy Entries – sent to conveyancer when registration is |
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What is a mortgage deed? |
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Deed that formally charges (secures money against) the property. Drawn up by your mortgage lender - will |
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Can a member of my family witness a signature for me? |
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No, the witness needs to be independent, unrelated and over the age of 18 – your conveyancer will |
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I have just completed on my sale and my conveyancer has not yet sent me any deeds. Is this right? |
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That is correct – common misconception that deeds are sent to buyer on completion – they are in fact |
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My purchase has been registered and my conveyancer has told me that all the deeds have been sent to me. However I have only had something called a “Title Information Document”. Is this right? |
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Yes – for a freehold property most of the title deeds are obsolete and your lender may well insist on |
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I am completing on my purchase, but I am not sure how I get the keys. What do I do? |
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These will usually be held by the estate agents – be aware that you will not be able to collect them |
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My conveyancer has told me that my seller needed a FENSA certificate for his windows but does not have one. Is this a problem and what can I do? |
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My conveyancer has told me that my seller needed a FENSA certificate for his windows but does not hav |
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What is a drainage search and do I need one? |
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Gives details of water and drainage service provider – confirms that property has mains water and |
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What is a chancel repair search? |
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This indicates whether your property might have a chancel repair liability. This would mean that you |
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Are there any other searches I might need? |
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Coal/tin mining, commons registration etc. Most depend on the region: e.g. in Cornwall you might need a |
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My lender has carried out a valuation report. Do I still need a survey? |
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The valuation is designed to assure the bank or building society that the property will, if sold, cover |
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My survey has identified some issues. What do I do now? |
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Find out how much it will cost to remedy. You may be able to negotiate price reduction to cover cost of |
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My solicitor has asked me for ID. Do I have to give this? |
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Owing to the Money Laundering Regulations your solicitor has an obligation to confirm positively |
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What is a disbursement? |
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A disbursement is the name conveyancers use for costs that they have to pay on your behalf. An example |
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I am not happy with the way my landlord manages the buiding. What can I do? |
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Under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 you as a Lessee along with the other Lessees of your |
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I want to buy the freehold of my building. What do I do? |
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You have the right compulsorily to buy out your Landlord’s freehold interest. This is known as e |
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I want to extend my lease, what do I do? |
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Under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and the Commonhold and Leasehold |
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I own the freehold to my building jointly with the other leaseholders. The arrangement is causing problems and we want to find a better way of running the block. What can we do? |
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Under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and the Commonhold and Leasehold |
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The lease of my flat includes the garden to the property block, for my exclusive use, but my neighbours refuse to stop using it. What can I do? |
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The key here is that you have ‘exclusive use’ of the garden this means that under the terms of your |
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My lease says I can use the garden at my block of flats, but my neighbours will not let me and have put up a locked gate. What can I do? |
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In these circumstances you should advise your landlord of the position and ask that he enforces the |
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I can't afford to pay my maintance charge. What can I do? |
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If you stop paying your maintenance charge you will be in breach of your Lease and the Landlord can, if |
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I want to knock down some internal walls in my flat. Can I do this? |
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It is most likely that your Lease will contain a restriction not to make any structural alterations to |
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I want to rent out my flat. Can I do this? |
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You are recommended to check the terms of your Lease before you let your flat out as it may contain a |
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